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The official Sega blog says Fighting Vipers, Sonic the Fighters, and Virtua Fighter 2 (three classic fighting games made by Sega's legendary AM2 team) are all heading to Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network next week. Each games will include Achievements and Trophies, and support online multiplayer.

All three games are set to show up on PSN on November 27 in North America for $4.99 each, and on November 28 on Xbox Live for 400 MSP. Then, they'll finally appear on the PSN in Europe on December 5 for €4.49.

You'll find screenshots for each game in the gallery below, and hopefully that'll be enough to tide you over until you get to throw down again in these old-school fighters.

#esrb Downloadable games sold through the three console makers' online services will be rated by what the Entertainment Software Ratings Board is calling a "streamlined, no-cost service," in a statement released today by the ESRB. The new "Digital Rating Service" gives developers and publishers access to a "brief but detailed online questionnaire" to define a product's covers downloadable games on Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, Nintendo's eShop and Wii Shop Channel, and Windows 8. More »

Sony's PlayStation Network store will receive an overhaul next Wednesday, October 17, in the PAL territories and October 23 in North America. The new design was revealed in London today, with VG247 reporting the storefront that fills the entire screen with a "redesigned UI that places sections for games, movies and TV content on the front page."

"It's from a functional perspective that the store will undergo its biggest changes. The search function is now smart, so provides a reductive list of options as each letter of the search phrase is typed," the site notes. "Abbreviations and misspelling will also be covered, allowing users to search for 'MW3' or 'Mas Efect'."

PS Vita and PSP receives two separate sections, with PS Store product development manager Elliot Dumville saying a majority of PS Store users search for PS3 content, so partitioning mobile and home makes sense.

We'll have more when this is revealed Stateside.

Warner Brothers sorta, kinda dropped release dates for the various versions of Monolith's Lord of the Rings-flavored MOBA Guardians of Middle-Earth earlier today, but fans were still confused about exactly when the game was going to be out, especially on Xbox 360. So let's set the record straight: The game will arrive on PSN in North America on December 5, and an actual retail version for the PS3 (complete with early access and a full season pass to the DLC) will be out on December 7. On the Xbox 360, there won't be a retail version, and the downloadable version will arrive on December 4.

So there you go. By December 8, you'll be upgrading towers, killing minions, and ganking top lane with Sauron and Gandalf. And on December 14, you'll be watching The Hobbit in theaters. It's almost here!

Sony announced the "PlayStation Essentials" program this morning for Europe, hot on the heels of yesterday's "PSN Day 1 Digital" program. The difference between the two PlayStation Network initiatives is that while Day 1 Digital is all launch titles, Essentials covers the classics - well, some are classics, others are just old and tired.

Highlights of the of program include the first three Assassin's Creed, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Far Cry 2 and Infamous. The prices begin at £9.99/€14.99, which may be a tough sell as a "bargain," since you can pick up many of these games for less by walking (ew, who wants to do that?) to the store. The main point here is that Sony continues drawing attention to its digital distribution of full games.

Check out the full list on the PlayStation EU blog, more games will be added this year to the current offerings.

#rumor Rumor out of GameStop's annual expo in San Antonio says EA Sports representatives told attendees that NBA Live 13 will in fact be a digital only release, and will cost $20 on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. More »

#opinion You can pick your preference between PlayStation and Xbox. You can argue that Halo is better than KillZone or that Uncharted tops Gears of War. More »

Achievements for the Genesis Rogue-like ToeJam & Earl have popped up over at Xbox360Achievements under the tag of Sega Vintage Collection. That suggests that not only is Toejam and Earl imminent on XBLM, but that it's part of the next bundle of Sega classics for both XBLA and PSN.

The last Sega Vintage Collection (Numero 3) came in May, bringing old-timers like Super-Hang On, The Revenge of Shinobi, and Alex Kidd in Miracle World to 360s and PS3s. What the next collection may offer is anyone's guess - beyond ToeJam and Earl, that is.

There remains no official Sega announcement on an XBLA or PSN release of ToeJam and Earl. However, back in July the creators of the game confirmed to XBLAFans that the publisher is planning to release it on XBLM and PSN. We've reached out to Sega for confirmation.Toejam & Earl achievements pop up, Sega Vintage Collection 4 imminent

#breaking Anonymous claims it broke into the PlayStation Network and has a 50 gigabyte database of email accounts and their passwords. Ten million accounts "are at risk," says the hacker involved. The passwords appear to be encrypted, and many of the accounts appear to be from Europe. This still would be a great time to double-check your password security. More »

#review Papo & Yo is an exorcism. More »

#papoyo Graffiti's played an important part in video games since early days, especially on console. Who can forget Jet Grind Radio's neon-colored spray paint? And, of course, Marc Ecko's Getting Up centered its entire essence on the politics around graf writing. More »

Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time! The bank robbing bad guys from Payday are getting crossed with Left 4 Dead's zombie-filled Mercy Hospital - apparently prior to the events of L4D - in an upcoming mission pack. See for yourself above.

When ESRB ratings for Grand Theft Auto 3 and Vice City on PlayStation 3 sprang up earlier this year, it seemed assured that the games were headed to PSN's PS2 classics section. Here we are, seven months later, totally unsurprised to hear that Grand Theft Auto 3 is heading to PSN's PS2 classics section next Tuesday for $10.

The news was revealed on the latest PlayStation podcast among other PSN releases for next week. Like all PS2 classics, GTA3 isn't getting an HD updates or Trophy support. Also, that Vice City ESRB listing hasn't panned out just yet, as that didn't get a release date (or an announcement ... or anything). But it's totally coming.

Sure, there are other goodies to explore in PSN's weekly update today, but we'd be remiss if we didn't say: Dyad. Seriously, guys, read our review. We like Dyad a whole lot. Joining Dyad on the PSN side are a pair of Resident Evil games: Umbrella Chronicles and Darkside Chronicles, both available for $14.99 each.

PS Plus members get some free PSOne Classics to download this week, while those with some cash to burn can snag full PS3 downloads of Crysis 2 and Record of Agarast 2. Plenty of games are on sale this week, too, including Fight Night Champion and Marvel vs Capcom 2. For the full list of this week's content, hit up the source link below.

#rainbowmoon I'm excited to check out Rainbow Moon, a strategy-RPG that comes out today for PlayStation 3. Launch trailer is above. More »

Curious about Q-Games' Pixeljunk 4am, but not quite curious enough to plunk down ten bucks on PSN? Have no fear, for the intrepid maestros here at Joystiq have put the bizarre PlayStation Move "game" to the test.

Check out the video above for the full rundown on the motion controlled music mixer, featuring the music of pro DJ, Pixeljunk Eden composer and epic Tweeter, Baiyon. We recommend cranking up the volume or using headphones to appreciate the subtleties of the audio.

Derek Neal, the producer of Marvel vs. Capcom: Origins ran us through the game and all it's features. How many features did they put in? Watch and find out!

If your patience refuses to be shackled by the Icelandic wooing of CCP's launch date-less Dust 514, the developer has a sneaky way for you to get into its closed beta early: $20. The "Mercenary Pack" offers more than early access to the game's currently closed beta, but we're guessing a list of gun names and XP bonuses aren't getting you all hot and bothered (in case they do, we've dropped all that info after the break).

Interestingly, the pack sounds an awful lot like CCP's original pricing plan for Dust 514. CCP reps told us at Gamescom last year, "You effectively pay what we call a 'cover charge,' we're looking at likely around $20 for the initial download. That download gets you the game client plus a bundle of virtual currency which has the equivalent in-game value of $20." Since then, Dust 514 became free-to-play, eliminating the need for a "cover charge" system.

The Mercenary Pack also includes 4,000 AUR ($20 of in-game currency), which - wouldn't you know it - was planned as part of Dust's original pricing strategy. The pack should become available on PlayStation Network - for $19.99/€17.99/£15.99, depending on your territory - at some point today when PSN updates.

#quantumconundrum Quantum Conundrum, released yesterday for the PC, now has a specific date for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. PlayStation Network gets the puzzler on July 10, Xbox Live subscribers may buy it on July 11. More »

Despite the absence of a pomeranian guest appearance at Sony's E3 2012 press conference, the company's delightfully bizarre-looking Tokyo Jungle is indeed headed to PlayStation Network in North America and Europe. A press release this week confirmed the EU release, and Sony VP of product development and worldwide studios Scott Rohde told us in an interview this week that the "wacky" internally developed PSN game will indeed arrive in North America as well.

"It'll ship here, it'll ship everywhere," Rohde said. To him, Tokyo Jungle's worldwide release is emblematic of Sony's "crazy innovative" approach. "That game is just wacky, but in a good way, because we like to show that there's still an art form, and you can still experiment," he said. "Is everyone gonna love a game like Tokyo Jungle? Absolutely not, but there's a whole bunch of people it's gonna make really happy. Specifically for the fact that it's so different, and so unexpected. That's a key part of the culture of Worldwide Studios and how our games are developed."

Though he couldn't name one specific person internally who championed the previously Japan-only game, Rohde extolled the internal culture that allows games like that to be created. "Someone has a key vision in our [Japan Studios] about Tokyo Jungle, they wanted to build this game. And so we're gonna embrace that. And of course we discuss it, and if it doesn't make sense, we can walk away. We walk away from dozens and dozens of titles every year. But the difference is, we actually build them out to a certain extent. And when they hit a point where we think, 'You know what? This is pretty interesting and it's gonna make some people happy,' we're gonna build it."

Frankly, we're pretty darn happy this one made it through the ringer. Tokyo Jungle doesn't have a release date or price just yet.

Our main little man from Papo & Yo got himself a fancy new suit to go with his fancy new E3 trailer, it seems. We'd like to tell him that the new duds are anywhere near as impressive as the sweet new gameplay clip, but that'd be a straight up lie. See both for yourself, just above.Papo & Yo gets a suit and a new trailer for E3

#gamestop In a statement given yesterday, GameStop said it and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe had reached an agreement for stores in Europe and Australia to sell vouchers for downloadable content and games games over the PlayStation Network. More »

GameStop announced the addition of PlayStation Network content to its European and Australian stores Friday. Downloadable content activation codes for the service can be purchased at more than 1,600 stores in Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

This marks an apparent trend in the company's efforts in broadening its reach into digital content, as GameStop began selling Steam vouchers at North American stores just over two weeks ago.

Ratchet & Clank are heading once more into the space breach, this time waging a "Full Frontal Assault" against space crabs with gatling guns, it seems. Insomniac head (and general nice dude) Ted Price took to the US PlayStation Blog this afternoon to announce "Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault" for PlayStation Network, alongside plans to launch the game "this holiday season."

Aside from the single screenshot you see above and the logo we've dropped in the gallery below, Price offered few details on the game. He said it'll be a "fun-sized" R&C title (like Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty before it), and that the game will return to "the series' classic feel, camera, controls, and weapons, while innovating and giving you a whole new way to play." What that means is another question altogether. Price also said that the game will feature online co-op, but kept details similarly slim.

The following is a PSA for all the PSN users out there, calibrated in PSI and utilizing linguistic psychology: The PlayStation Network is undergoing scheduled maintenance on Thursday, May 24, from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. PDT.

The PlayStation Store and PlayStation Home may not be accessible during this time, but online play and other apps such as Netflix and Amazon Instant will run as normal, provided you've signed into the network at least five days prior to Thursday. This means do it now if you have big PSN plans tomorrow.

There are so many games out there we couldn't possibly review them all. Welcome to Snapshot, where highlight games that might fall outside our usual coverage but are still something we think you should know about. Today: Datura for PS3. Standing amongst fallen leaves in an unknown forest, a face stares at me from the side of a tree. It's not a real face, of course, only a mask. Expending considerable effort, I pry the mask from the tree, revealing a hollow behind it. Housed within the hollow is a small pickaxe. Upon grasping the handle, I black out.

I wake up in the middle of a frozen wasteland. Crawling along the hard surface, I clear away some snow with my forearm, exposing the ice underneath. It's not a wasteland at all; it's a lake. Beneath the ice is a golden chalice. A noise from behind prompts me to clear away more snow, exposing a horror underneath: A woman is trapped below the ice, and she's still alive.

The pickaxe still rests in my hand, so I immediately go to work, chipping away as the woman squirms against the surface. My heart pounds as the axe falls again and again, slowly cracking the ice. Finally, the ice gives way - directly beneath me - and I tumble into the chilly abyss, sinking down as I watch the light of sky recede into nothingness. Again, I awake in the forest, the mask in my hand, which I quickly discard.

This is a moment pulled directly from Datura. Did I do something wrong? Something right? I haven't got a clue.

This is a column by Kat Bailey dedicated to the analysis of the once beloved Japanese RPG sub-genre. Tune in every Wednesday for thoughts on white-haired villains, giant robots, Infinity+1 swords, and everything else the wonderful world of JRPGs has to offer.
The year 2000 was incredible for console RPGs developed in Japan. I'm sitting here looking at the list, and so many pantheon level games jump out at me. Final Fantasy IX, Chrono Cross, Vagrant Story, Front Mission 3, Valkyrie Profile and Super Robot Taisen Alpha (the first of the franchise's "modern" entries) all came out that year. There's also Legend of Dragoon, Sony's erstwhile attempt to piggyback on the success of SquareSoft. And as it happens, it hit the PSN this week.

The impending arrival of The Legend of Dragoon has brought with it a wave of nostalgia from some very vocal fans; and boy, they will not brook any criticism of their favorite game. Just look at what happened when 1UP asked why they should care about Legend of Dragoon: blanket proclamations that it's the PS1's most underrated RPG, and by the way, a true classic.

Was it though? Have we all somehow overlooked a true gem of a JRPG? I don't think so. I would take every one of the RPGs I listed in the introduction over Legend of Dragoon. I do, however, think that Legend of Dragoon has its place in RPG history.

#goodbye The asynchronous multiplayer in Demon's Souls helped make Atlus' 2009 PS3 exclusive a cult hit. And now it's going away forever. More »

New York will be removing the state's registered sex offenders from several online gaming services, NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has announced. As part of "Operation: Game Over," over 3,500 of accounts have been removed from various gaming services run by "Microsoft, Apple, Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Disney, Warner Bros. and Sony." The purge was done with the consent of each company. Xbox Live is the only service explicitly mentioned in the press release, though each company certainly has recognized services, including PlayStation Network, Origin, Game Canter, Battle.net, etc.

The press release notes that New York law requires sex offenders to provide the state with email addresses and screen names, which can then "be made available to certain websites so they can purge potential predators from their online networks." This marks the first time the law has been applied to gaming services. Vice president and deputy general counsel Rich Wallis noted that the company is "supportive of Attorney General Schneiderman's efforts to make the Internet, including online gaming environments like Xbox LIVE, safer for everyone."

This isn't the first time that A.G. Schneiderman has delved into the world of video games. He also subpoenaed Sony regarding the PlayStation Network security breach last year.

New York will be removing the state's registered sex offenders from several online gaming services, NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has announced. As part of "Operation: Game Over," over 3,500 of accounts have been removed from various gaming services run by "Microsoft, Apple, Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Disney, Warner Bros. and Sony." The purge was done with the consent of each company. Xbox Live is the only service explicitly mentioned in the press release, though each company certainly has recognized services, including PlayStation Network, Origin, Game Canter, Battle.net, etc.

The press release notes that New York law requires sex offenders to provide the state with email addresses and screen names, which can then "be made available to certain websites so they can purge potential predators from their online networks." This marks the first time the law has been applied to gaming services. Vice president and deputy general counsel Rich Wallis noted that the company is "supportive of Attorney General Schneiderman's efforts to make the Internet, including online gaming environments like Xbox LIVE, safer for everyone."

This isn't the first time that A.G. Schneiderman has delved into the world of video games. He also subpoenaed Sony regarding the PlayStation Network security breach last year.